The invention relates to an apparatus for melting asbestos-containing waste material, including a furnace into which the waste material with batch for melting the glass is charged and from which the molten glass is withdrawn.
It is known to render asbestos-containing waste material inert by vitrification, a process which does not require depositing the material in a special hazardous waste disposal site. The glass so obtained can either be used or deposited on regular waste disposal sites.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,411 already suggests a furnace for melting glass while adding asbestos-containing waste material. Since the melting is carried out electrically only small amounts of exhaust gas develop which are easy to purify.
It has now turned out that asbestos-containing waste material contains to a certain extent larger amounts of plastic materials. This results in the disadvantage that dioxines and furanes can develop in the glass melting furnace which contaminate the furnace exhaust gas.
Further, it turned out that parts of the delivered asbestos-containing material are not only moist but also that free water can develop. In case this water reaches the furnace it causes explosions which can damage or destroy the furnace and endanger the lives of the operating crew.